


Ash in the Sky

by Crowley_Winchester



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alone, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Depression, Duel of the Fates, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor Character Death, Reflection, Self-Reflection, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:14:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22398391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowley_Winchester/pseuds/Crowley_Winchester
Summary: Hux stands alone, looking at the battle raging around him on Coruscant. Slowly, he realises that the First Order is losing, and he thinks back on everything he's lost.
Relationships: Armitage Hux & Phasma, Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 82





	Ash in the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This piece is directly inspired from Duel of the Fates concept art (if you haven't seen it yet, https://imgur.com/a/lX9JG8F ). After seeing what could have been, compared to Rise of Skywalker, I couldn't not write about it.

The explosions were loud enough that they shook the very floor. All around him, there were the sounds of gunfire, of ships crashing into one another, and once in a while, the faint sounds of a building crumbling in the distance. 

"Chancellor, there's too many of them-"

"I need TIE Fighters, this Destroyer can't hold on much longer, where the kriff are they?"

"Rebels blew up the docking bay, only ones we have left are in the air."

"Then where are the reinforcements?!"

"There aren't any left in this system, they-"

"Commander? Commander?! Comm-"

Hux stood in front of the console in his office, impassive, silent as he heard his commanding officers yell at one another, once in a while one suddenly cutting off in time with a nearby explosion. That's what had happened to Mitaka, only a few minutes ago, which caused the general to become unresponsive. It didn't take a strategising genius to figure out that they were losing. With an intake of breath, the man flicked a switch, turning off his console. The voices stopped, and Armitage was left alone, in silence. Well, almost silence, anyways.

The office he had taken for himself was beautiful, no one could deny that. Some had suggested he take the old Chancellor's office, but Armitage merely scoffed at that. He wasn't here to relive the memories of an Emperor long gone, he was here to make something new, something better. So, a part of a hallway had walls built up around it, and a fresh coat of paint later, it was the new Chancellor's headquarters. Hux had picked the spot specifically because of the view. The windows started at the floor and wrapped around the entirety of the longest wall in his office. Every day, Armitage would be able to look at what he created with no small sense of pride.

Now, as the Chancellor walked up to the windows once more, all he could see was what was being destroyed, and he felt anything but proud. Slowly, the man put his hands behind his back, tightening his fists. It was easier that way, to distance himself from the destruction all around him. 

When he had been a child on Arkanis, he had always daydreamed of what it would be like to live and work on a planet like Coruscant. One day, he made the mistake of telling it to his father, when he had asked what he could possibly be daydreaming about. Armitage remembered quite clearly the mockery. How he would never amount to anything worthy of being part of anything but the slums of Coruscant, too dark to see the light of day. A small smile flickered across the Chancellor's face for a moment, his eyes moving from the ships to the sky. Even now, as the dust was thick in the air from destruction, he could still see the sun. If only his father was still alive, so he could see the expression on his face when he realised everything he had ever thought was wrong.

It was better that he wasn't still alive. If Brendol was still breathing, the old bastard, Armitage never would have been able to rise through the ranks as he did. Never would have been able to become something truly great. And it was all thanks to Phasma. Hux pursed his lips, turning his eyes from the windows to the floor next to him. That's where she was supposed to be; by his side. Not dead and gone. He never thought he was going to outlive her. She worked in the field much more than he, yes, but she was a survivor. People like her didn't die, weren't supposed to die. Especially not at the hands of Rebels.

The worst part, he supposed, was that he never got to say goodbye. The last time they had seen each other, he had gotten his finger bit by that little traitor. A smirk, with no humour behind it, crossed Hux's face as he looked down at the hand she had bit. If only Phasma didn't insist on executing the Rebels that way. He hadn't been there to see it in the moment, but afterwards, once he realised what had happened...he had poured through the security footage, trying to see if there was someone to blame. At the very least, how it had happened. If only he had stayed, then he could've told her off, could've told her to shoot them and then they could've gotten back to the bridge. But would it really have mattered? They were two birds of a feather; he would have wanted to watch them suffer too, and then they would've both been in the hangar, and could've both died. 

If only he had known that was going to be it...well, he would've changed things. Had her accompany him, as he always preferred she did. He could've complained about his hand being bit and she could've told him how much of a fool he was to antagonise those savages, and he really should start wearing some sort of armour. She had always been chiding him about that. She was so kriffing annoying like that, ever since they had become friends. Always acting like his kriffing mother or something.

Armitage took a deep breath, wiping away the tears welling up with shaking fists. Forget his father being here, Phasma should have been here. She would have approved of his new robes, always said the Imperial uniform wasn't the most flattering on him. The Chancellor bit the inside of his cheek as he looked out the window, wondering what she would say if she lived to see this. So close to security, to greatness, for it to just be crumbling away, as the skyline was. She'd probably be grabbing his hand, dragging him along with her to an escape shuttle she had hidden away just for this reason. Always was so prepared. He could do that, right this very moment, but what was the point?

After he had found out she died, it had taken him some time to get used to. Too often would he be turning his head, ready to ask her a question or her opinion on something, only to find a blank piece of floor. Even now, he wasn't used to it. Why else was he thinking about her so much?

Another rumble, this one much closer, snapped Armitage out of his reverie. His jaw set, the man walked over to one of the walls, pressing his hand against it. It glowed red for a moment before opening, the seemingly unsuspicious wall swinging out to reveal a hidden closet. Inside, neatly organised, was a row of lightsabers.

Hux still remembered wielding his first one. It wasn't something one forgot, he supposed. Ren, before all of this 'Supreme Leader' and 'Chancellor' nonsense, had been training on the Finalizer. That would have all been well and good, except it was Hux's scheduled time to use that training room. So, after getting into quite the row about it, Ren said that no training could ever be as important or significant as training with a lightsaber. The general had laughed, saying that not only was that ridiculous, but it wasn't like he could go and just buy one from the market to start training with. And Ren, expecting Hux to make a fool of himself, smugly handed him the red lightsaber.

Somehow, that argument had turned into training sessions. They were infrequent, happening more by chance than not, but slowly, Hux had been learning (not before leaving some permanent damage in the floor and walls). One day, Kylo had brought Armitage his very own lightsaber. According to Ren, it was one from one of the Knights who had switched weapons styles and no longer wanted such a blade. Their trainings developed into sparrings shortly after that. Armitage might have complained about the time it was eating up that he could be spending on strategies or reports, but he was quick to realise a pattern; on the weeks they sparred, no part of the Finalizer was destroyed.

One sparring session in particular was more memorable than the rest. Hux had been midswing, quick enough this time that Ren couldn't have blocked it if he tried. So, the Sith took a step back and raised his hand, and Armitage had gone flying across the room. Of course, that was ridiculously unfair, and the general was quick to point that out, though with significantly more profanity. Kylo had been smug about it, telling Hux that it wasn't his fault the ginger couldn't use the Force. 

Armitage insisted that it couldn't be that hard to use, it was just a bunch of meaningless tricks, so the pair returned to Ren's room. Hux raised an eyebrow as Kylo unrolled a mat and lit some candles, gesturing for the general to sit across from him, but he did as he was told, too curious to ignore the invitation. And from there, in addition to their sparring sessions, they began meditating together. Kylo told him that he needed to reach out, and attempt to feel his mind. Every time, Hux would get frustrated, snapping that Ren was just attempting to make him look like a fool, that nothing was ever happening, but the Sith, for once in his life, was patient. Maybe it was due to fire hazard the candles pozed.

It never did end up working, as much as Armitage tried. He had been attempting it more and more as of late, sitting on the floor of his new office and attempting to 'feel the Force around him.' Still hadn't worked, but if he was honest with himself, he knew from early on in those sessions that he wasn't going to succeed. But, it was still nice to do. Ren and him had fallen into a comfortable routine, and their relationship had switched from enemies to...something else. The man was hesitant to call it friendship. The only friend he had had before was Phasma. Besides, there was something different about Ren. The Sith made him frustrated, beyond a doubt, but there became an underlying fondness under it all. And, for a while, Hux could almost fancy the idea of them becoming closer. There were certainly some drunk nights that had ended with them laying side by side, mumbling secrets to each other until they had fallen asleep. The man Armitage hated, he had begun to understand.

At least, he had. He couldn't say that anymore. As with all good things in his life, they weren't meant to last. Starkiller had happened, and by the time Hux realised what was going to happen if Ren continued to pursue that scavenger girl, it was too late. He had become obsessed, and broken. There wasn't the Kylo he knew anymore. There was only Supreme Leader Ren.

Even now, he had no idea if the Sith was still alive. They had gotten into a fight before Ren left Coruscant to hunt Rey yet again. Unlike the fights they used to have on the Finalizer, which had been closer to games of wit, these fights were brutal, often ending with Kylo choking him or throwing him against something. Hux couldn't even remember what Kylo had said to him, but he remembered that he had turned away from the Sith, storming away from the hangar with nothing short of hatred in his heart.

Was Ren even still alive? For some reason, deep in his heart, he didn't think so. Perhaps, at the end of it all, he finally learned enough of the Force to 'reach out.' Hux chuckled to himself at the absurdity of it all before directing his attention back to the cabinet in front of him. 

The lightsabers were from different eras, in different conditions, with different shapes and different colours. Since Hux had snarked to Ren that lightsabers weren't easy to find, the Sith had almost turned it into a game to see how many he could find. He had always shown them to Hux before storing them away in his room. Apparently, when Kylo had left the Finalizer, he hadn't deemed the collection worthy enough to take with him. Or perhaps, if Armitage wanted to be hopeful and dream, he left them behind on purpose. Either way, the moment the general found them, he immediately stored them away.

While there was a wide selection to choose from, Hux already knew which one he would take. His hand came to rest on the most unremarkable of them all; the one that Ren had given to him to spar with. Slowly, he took it out, closing the secret cabinet behind him.

The Chancellor looked out the window, too tired to feel rage at the First Order's collapse like any proper leader should. Perhaps his father had been right, after all; he was too weak to be a leader of anything. Everything he built always seemed to crumble away. Armitage turned away from the window, guilt eating at him. If he had been a better leader, the First Order might have been able to survive this. If he had been a better friend, Phasma might still be beside him. If he had been a better...something, maybe Ren wouldn't have turned away from him, down a path too dark for even Hux to follow.

There was nothing left for Hux, he knew that. He was numb to the world around him, and as the building shook once more he fell to his knees. Slowly, he activated the lightsaber, staring into the red glow. The last time he had felt this blade in his hand, Kylo had been grinning cheekily across from him, spinning his own ridiculous-looking saber in anticipation. They had sparred and meditated before they met in an abandoned office to drink with Phasma. It was the last good day Armitage had had. If only he had realised it would be the last good day of the rest of his life.

The red light of the saber was reflected off of Armitage's broken smile. This time, he didn't try to wipe the tears off of his face. It was time. With a deep breath, Hux turned the blade around, plunging it into himself. The man let out a small grunt before grinding his teeth together, leaning into the blade. He shut his eyes, not looking over at the explosions happening outside of his window, but letting his tears hit the floor as he remembered the family he had lost. Not his father, or his mother, but Kylo and Phasma; the people that mattered most in his life, that were gone.

All of his life's ambitions had been to increase his power because power meant that no one could hurt him. He couldn't end up at the hands of someone like his father again. But, for one small moment, he hadn't been hurt or the most powerful. The world's problems seemed to disappear with his time spent on the Finalizer. If only he had appreciated those moments for what they were; the most meaningful time in his life. Where he could feel something more for another than just hatred or respect.

Hux retracted the lightsaber blade, crumpling to his side as he did so. His tears blurred his vision, but weakly, he looked past the Rebels overtaking the Order, and stared at the sun, ash-covered as it was. It was not a beautiful day to die, but still, he smiled. It didn't hurt anymore. All he could feel was warm, and he could almost imagine that it was the sun reaching out, drying his tears. Or Phasma. Or Kylo. With a trembling hand, Armitage reached out, grasping at people that weren't there. "I...loved you. Always."

Whether it was meant for Kylo or Phasma in that particular moment was irrelevant. It was how he felt about both members of his family. And it was about time he saw them again to tell it to them.

Slowly, the trembling hand fell to the floor. A shuddering breath. Then another. Then, silence.


End file.
